MartinHafer Dick Powell was immensely popular in films during the 1930s. Warner Brothers shoved him into picture after picture...yet Powell was not happy. He longed to have meatier roles and was tired of playing boy next door types in musicals. After seeing "Broadway Gondolier", I could see why he hated these sorts of roles. And, like many of his musicals of the day, they haven't aged all that well.The biggest problem with "Broadway Gondolier" is that the plot is pure puff--with no depth and a story that just doesn't make sense. Powell plays Dick Purcell*, a cab driver who longs to sing on the radio. However, after blowing his audition to sing for a show sponsored by a cheese company, he gets another chance by pretending to be someone else...and Italian gondolier! Sounds ridiculous? Absolutely. Powell sounds about as Italian as Mantan Moreland or Anna May Wong! The plot makes absolutely no sense and the film is filled with a lot of not particularly memorable songs. Not a terrible film but not a good one.*It is very interesting that they chose the name 'Dick Purcell' for Mr. Powell. That's because there already WAS an actor with the REAL name of Dick Purcell in Hollywood. He would soon make a niche for himself in Hollywood playing, among other things, Captain America.

calvinnme This film has as silly a storyline as any of the Dick Powell musicals (maybe intentionally so), but its entertaining enough to watch, with some tuneful songs (including one minor standard: Lulu's Back in Town). It's all the more so, owing to the presence of Joan Blondell. She was especially gorgeous in this movie. When speaking of her, most people comment on her sassiness, and rapid-fire patter. But in addition to her fine acting, she was also a beautiful, sexy woman, with huge eyes. She employs here an understated, deadpan delivery she used sometimes to heighten the comic effect of her lines. It shows how deft her ability was with comedy. The movie doesn't have Busby Berkeley's production numbers, so I suppose that's why it isn't so well remembered as other ones. But it does put more focus on Dick Powell's voice. While is it isn't up to the operatic standards required by the role, it's certainly a great voice. It gets overlooked in discussions of him, taken for granted, even, I would say. It may be the nature of his roles, and his later transformation distract people's attention.

David (Handlinghandel) This little known Dick Powell-Joan Blondell romance musical, with a good turn by Louise Fazenda, is a charmer. What I like most is its erudition. Those must have been the days. At the beginning, occasionally in the middle, and near the end, everyone on the street seems to know the turns and lyrics to arias from Rigoletto.""What's THAT?!" most movie audiences would ask today.It opens with two music critics debating how one aria goes, then their cab driver -- who turns into the title character when he masquerades, per his vocal coach Adolph Menjou, as an Italian to get on the radio here -- joins in and a beat cop also does.The rest of the music is very nice, too; but not quite Verdi.

AQKent It's been awhile since I saw this... It's a fun, harmless Warner Bros. musical of the '30's, with Dick Powell as an American crooner who moves to Italy to be a Gondolier, then (of course) gets discovered by a whacky American rich-lady, out to provide a "real" Singing-Gondolier for her husbands radio show... You get the idea. He falls for an adorable Joan Blondell while trying to hide his real identity... the movie's a lot of fun if you're not looking for great depth or meaning. Typical of the Warner Bros. musical machine of the day, but still fun.